A Proper Icon
Hello, all! I’m back from an epic four-week gallivant, during which I was blog incommunicado. Oh, the places I’ve been, and the things I’ve seen: the highest mountain in Alabama,…
A Primer on Religious Existentialism, Pt. 1: Introduction
When people find out that I self-identify as a Christian existentialist, they are sometimes surprised. And why shouldn’t they be? Existentialism as a philosophical movement is bound up in the…
Another Sorry Excuse for a Lectionary Post
I encourage folks to go to Vanderbilit’s Revised Common Lectionary page for next Sunday and read the texts, but a room full of third- and fourth-graders have already stolen my…
LOST: The Nature of the Smoke Monster
SPOILER DISCLAIMER: Out of respect for Hulu watchers, TiVo devotees, Netflix subscribers, and other folks who didn’t watch the Superbowl-length extravaganza on May 23, I’ve waited until now to start…
Side One, Track Two
The subject of this week’s All Songs Considered podcast (from NPR, and highly recommended to people who like pop and rock music) was Side One, Track One—the best songs that…
Moral Equivalency, Sad Clowns, and World War II
In my last few years of college, when I knew I was headed toward graduate school but didn’t know what the experience would be like, I found myself groping, nearly…
The God who Restores Life: A Reflection on the Lectionary Readings for 6 June 2010
Revised Common Lectionary Page for 6 June 2010 (Second Sunday after Pentecost, Year C) 1 Kings 17:8-16, (17-24) and Psalm 146 • 1 Kings 17:17-24 and Psalm 30 • Galatians…
LOST: Purgatory is Other People
SPOILER DISCLAIMER: Out of respect for Hulu watchers, TiVo devotees, and other folks who didn’t watch the Superbowl-length extravaganza on May 23, I’ve waited until now to start writing about…
"Civil Disobedience" and Political Cowardice
I dislike Walden so intensely and thoroughly that I’ve somehow avoided reading Henry David Thoreau’s other great masterwork, the much shorter “Civil Disobedience,” until this year. The joke was on…
Lawyers and Poets: A Review of The Gospel You've Never Heard for the Ooze Viral Bloggers
Who Really Goes to Hell?: The Gospel You’ve Never Heard: What a Protestant Bible written by Jews says about God’s work through Christ: A book for those in the church…
Wisdom of God, Spirit of God: A Reflection on the Lectionary Readings for 30 May 2010
Revised Common Lectionary Readings for 30 May 2010 (Trinity Sunday, Year C) Proverbs 8:1-4, 22-31 and Psalm 8 • Romans 5:1-5 • John 16:12-15 The Trinity still makes me nervous. I have no…
The Christian Humanist Podcast, Episode #22
Welcome to Season 2.5. The theme music this week is “Rock and Roll Dixie,” from the soundtrack to the video game The Neverhood. We also have a special guest host,…
Loving Valid Questions
Embracing Our Questioners by John Castelein I do like to toot my own tradition’s horn when I can, and The Christian Standard, our weekly publication, last Sunday had this nice…
Old Habits Die Hard: A Reflection on the Lectionary Readings for 23 May 2010
Revised Common Lectionary Page for 23 May (Pentecost, Year C) Acts 2:1-21 or Genesis 11:1-9 • Psalm 104:24-34, 35b • Romans 8:14-17 or Acts 2:1-21 • John 14:8-17, (25-27) I…
Bible, Tradition, Authority part 3: Forgetting the Giants
In a recent conversation with fellow Christian Humanist Michial Farmer, I noted a certain paradox about my relationship with Brian McLaren and other public Christian intellectuals who often get labeled…